The Tuareg nomads who roam the desert borderlands of Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso are producing some fascinating music. The best known among the Tuareg bands, Tinariwen, have transposed the sound of Mississippi Delta blues to an electric guitar orchestra in a North African setting.
Filmmaker Kathi von Koerber explored the Tuareg in her documentary, Footsteps in Africa. The music for her film has been recast in a new context on a CD called Footsteps in Africa Soundtrack: Nomadic Remix (BFM Digital). Produced by Ambient Grooves Joshua Jacob with the help of various DJs, the album wraps samples of the rocky dry nomad music in contemporary chill room melodies and pulsating dance floor beats. On the best tracks, original rhythms of the Tuareg set the pace and direction for this excursion into exotic electronica.
